Phase-shift unit, phase shifter and antenna

ABSTRACT

A phase-shift unit includes: a first substrate and a second substrate provided opposite to each other; a medium layer provided between the first substrate and the second substrate; a microstrip line disposed at a side of the second substrate facing towards the first substrate; and a grounding layer provided at a side of the first substrate facing towards the second substrate and formed with a via hole; wherein a projection of the via hole onto the second substrate and a projection of the microstrip line onto the second substrate have an overlapped area therebetween; and wherein the via hole is configured to feed a phase-shifted microwave signal out of the phase-shift unit, or feed a microwave signal into the phase-shift unit such that the microwave signal is phase-shifted.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/649,708, filed Feb. 2, 2022, which in turn is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/106,828, filed Nov. 30, 2020, which inturn is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/750,810, filed Feb. 6, 2018, which in turn is a 371 National Stageapplication of International Application No. PCT/CN2017/098043, with aninternational filing date of Aug. 18, 2017, which in turn claimspriority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201710060025.4 filed on Jan.24, 2017 in the State Intellectual Property Office of China, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of displaytechnology, and particularly, to a phase-shift unit, a phase shifter andan antenna.

BACKGROUND

In existing wireless terminals (such as mobile phone, tablet computerand the likes), a display panel and an antenna are two functionalmodules independently provided, and are required to be designed andmanufactured respectively and finally be assembled. The process isrelatively complicated. Moreover, almost of the antennas in theterminals are omnidirectional antennas which have high power consumptionand thus affect duration performance to a large extent.

A smart antenna is an antenna array which is capable of determiningspatial information of a microwave signal by means of intelligentalgorithm to achieve tracing and location of microwave signal source. Bymeans of tracing and filtering of microwave signal, strength ofmicrowave signal can be greatly improved, proportion of microwave signalinterruption can be reduced, and energy loss can be reduced.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, thereis provided a phase-shift unit comprising:

-   -   a first substrate and a second substrate provided opposite to        each other;    -   a medium layer provided between the first substrate and the        second substrate;    -   a microstrip line disposed at a side of the second substrate        facing towards the first substrate; and    -   a grounding layer provided at a side of the first substrate        facing towards the second substrate and formed with a via hole;    -   wherein a projection of the via hole onto the second substrate        and a projection of the microstrip line onto the second        substrate have an overlapped area therebetween; and    -   the via hole is configured to feed a phase-shifted microwave        signal out of the phase-shift unit, or feed a microwave signal        into the phase-shift unit such that the microwave signal is        phase-shifted.

In some embodiments, the projection of the microstrip line onto thesecond substrate divides the projection of the via hole onto the secondsubstrate into portions located on two sides of the projection of themicrostrip line onto the second substrate.

In some embodiments, the portions of the projection of the via hole ontothe second substrate located on the two sides of the projection of themicrostrip line onto the second substrate are symmetrical about theprojection of the microstrip line onto the second substrate.

In some embodiments, the projection of the microstrip line onto thesecond substrate spans and exceeds an extension of the projection of thevia hole onto the second substrate.

In some embodiments, the microstrip line includes a first portionextending in a winding shape on the second substrate, and a secondportion electrically connected to the first portion, the projection ofthe via hole onto the second substrate overlaps a projection of thesecond portion onto the second substrate, and no overlap is between aprojection of the first portion onto the second substrate and theprojection of the via hole onto the second substrate.

In some embodiments, the phase-shift unit further comprises: adirect-current blocking device provided at a feeder interface of themicrostrip line and configured for avoiding interference of directcurrent signal.

In some embodiments, the phase-shift unit further comprises:

-   -   a first alignment layer and a second alignment layer provided at        either side of the liquid crystal layer, respectively.

In some embodiments, the first alignment layer is provided between theliquid crystal layer and the grounding layer; and

-   -   the second alignment layer is provided between the liquid        crystal layer and a film layer where the microstrip line is        located.

In some embodiments, a projection of one end of the microstrip line ontothe second substrate is located within the projection of the via holeonto the second substrate.

In some embodiments, buffer layers are provided between the secondsubstrate and the microstrip line, and between the first substrate andthe grounding layer, respectively.

According to another aspect of embodiment of the present disclosure,there is provided a phase shifter, comprising at least one saidphase-shift unit.

In some embodiments, the phase shifter comprises a plurality of saidphase-shift units, wherein the plurality of phase-shift units have thecommon first substrate and the common second substrate.

According to another aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure,there is provided an antenna comprising at least one said phase shifterof claim 11.

In some embodiments, the antenna further comprises:

-   -   at least one patch unit provided at a side of the first        substrate facing away from the liquid crystal layer and        configured to transmit or receive an electromagnetic wave        signal, and    -   a projection of the at least one via hole onto the second        substrate is located within a projection of the at least one        patch unit onto the second substrate.

In some embodiments, the projection of at least one patch unit onto thesecond substrate and the projection of at least one microstrip line ontothe second substrate have an overlapped area therebetween.

In some embodiments, the antenna comprises four via holes in an arrayarrangement, and the antenna comprises patch units being in a one-to-onepositional correspondence to the four via holes, and wherein aprojection of the patch unit onto the first substrate at least covers aprojection of the via hole onto the first substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a structural schematic view showing a smart antenna providedin related art;

FIG. 2 is a perspective schematic view showing a phase-shift unitaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3(a) and FIG. 3(b) are sectional schematic views showing thephase-shift unit of FIG. 2 , respectively;

FIG. 4 is a perspective schematic view showing another phase-shift unitaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a perspective schematic view showing a yet another phase-shiftunit according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a sectional schematic view showing a still another phase-shiftunit according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing a further phase-shift unitaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a structural schematic view showing an antenna according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is another sectional schematic view showing the antenna of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10(a) and FIG. 10(b) are schematic top views showing an antennaaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 10(a)shows a phase-shift unit of the antenna shown in FIG. 10(b).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In order to provide a more clear understanding of objects, techniquesolutions and advantages of the present disclosure, the presentdisclosure will be further described hereinafter in detail withreference to the attached drawings. Obviously, the described embodimentsare only some of embodiments of the present disclosure, instead of allof the embodiments of the present disclosure. For those skilled in theart, all other embodiments achieved by referring to the embodiments ofthe present disclosure without involving any inventive steps fall intothe scope of the present disclosure.

Phased-array antenna is a smart antenna which achieves adjustment ofbeam direction by controlling a feed phase of a microwave signal.Referring to FIG. 1 , after a microwave signal enters a phase-shift unit01 through a feed network, phase shift capability of each phase-shiftunit 01 is adjusted so that the microwave signal arriving at eachradiation unit 02 can generate a corresponding phase difference,equiphase surface deflects, and also radiation direction variesaccordingly. As a result, radiation directional pattern of the microwavesignal can be controlled as long as a phase shift amount of thephase-shift unit 01 is adjusted, which achieves real-time tracing of themicrowave signal.

The phase-shift unit, the phase shifter and the antenna providedaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure use liquid crystalsas a transmission medium of an electromagnetic wave signal (taking amicrowave signal as an example) and achieves phase control of themicrowave signal by deflection of the liquid crystals. Moreover, thephase-shift unit provided according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure has good compatibility with a display panel.

Shapes and sizes of components in the attached drawings do not reflectactual scale, and only intend to schematically illustrate contents ofthe present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2 , FIG. 3(a) and FIG. 3(b), a phase-shift unitprovided according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes:a first substrate 10 and a second substrate 11 assembled to each other;a liquid crystal layer 12 provided between the first substrate 10 andthe second substrate 11; a microstrip line 13 provided at a side of thesecond substrate 11 facing towards the liquid crystal layer 12, andconfigured for receiving a voltage signal that controls deflection ofliquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer and for receivingor transmitting a microwave signal; and a grounding layer 14 provided onthe first substrate 10 and including a via hole 15 corresponding to themicrostrip line 13. In examples, as shown in FIG. 3(a), the groundinglayer 14 is provided at a side of the first substrate facing towards theliquid crystal layer 12, or as shown in FIG. 3(b), the grounding layer14 is provided at a side of the first substrate away from the liquidcrystal layer 12.

Here, FIG. 2 is a perspective schematic view of a phase-shift; and FIG.3(a) and FIG. 3(b) are sectional schematic views of the phase-shiftunit, respectively. In FIG. 2 , FIG. 3(a) and FIG. 3(b), only onemicrostrip line and one via hole are taken as an example, and it is notlimited to this structure; and the phase-shift unit may further comprisea plurality of microstrip lines and a plurality of via holes and similarstructures, and it is not specifically limited herein.

As shown in the figures, a phase-shift unit comprises: a first substrateand a second substrate provided opposite to each other; a medium layerprovided between the first substrate and the second substrate; amicrostrip line provided at a side of the second substrate facingtowards the first substrate; and a grounding layer provided at a side ofthe first substrate facing towards the second substrate and formed witha via hole; wherein a projection of the via hole onto the secondsubstrate and a projection of the microstrip line onto the secondsubstrate have an overlapped area therebetween; and the via hole isconfigured to feed a phase-shifted microwave signal out of thephase-shift unit, or feed a microwave signal into the phase-shift unitsuch that the microwave signal is phase-shifted.

Specifically, liquid crystal molecule as anisotropic material ownsdifferent dielectric constants in its long axis direction and its shortaxis direction. The liquid crystal molecule deflects while being appliedwith a deflection voltage at both ends of the liquid crystal molecule,and dielectric constant of the liquid crystal molecule also variesaccording to the deflection of the liquid crystal. If the liquid crystalis acted as a transmission media of transmitting a microwave signal,when the microwave signal is transmitting in the liquid crystal withvaried dielectric constants, phase of the microwave signal changesaccordingly, namely a phase shift occurs. Accordingly, in theembodiments of the present disclosure, phase of the microwave signal iscontrolled by varying dielectric constants of the liquid crystalmolecules. When receiving or transmitting the microwave signal, theliquid crystal layer is deflected under the action of a voltagedifference between the microstrip line and the grounding layer, andadjusts the phase of the microwave signal passing through the liquidcrystal layer.

A phase-shift unit provided according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure includes: a first substrate and a second substrate assembledto each other; a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate andthe second substrate; a microstrip line provided at a side of the secondsubstrate facing towards the liquid crystal layer, and configured forreceiving a voltage signal that controls deflection of liquid crystalmolecules in the liquid crystal layer and for receiving or transmittinga microwave signal; and a grounding layer provided on the firstsubstrate and including a via hole corresponding to the microstrip line.As a result, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, theliquid crystal layer is provided between the microstrip line and thegrounding layer and is deflected under a voltage difference between themicrostrip line and the grounding layer. When the microwave signalpropagates in the deflected liquid crystal layer, phase of the microwavesignal varies according to deflection of the liquid crystal layer, andthe microwave signal is further transmitted through the via hole of thegrounding layer. Therefore, the phase-shift unit according toembodiments of the present disclosure achieves use of liquid crystals astransmission media of the microwave signal and controlling of phase ofthe microwave signal according to the deflection of the liquid crystals.Moreover, the phase-shift unit provided according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure has good compatibility with a display panel.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 3(a), in the phase-shift unitprovided according to embodiments of the present disclosure, thegrounding layer 14 is provided at a side of the first substrate 10facing towards the liquid crystal layer 12, so that the microwave signaldirectly radiates through the via hole after passing through thedeflected liquid crystal layer.

In some specific embodiments, in the phase-shift unit provided accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure, referring to FIG. 3(a) andFIG. 3(b), a projection of the via hole 15 of the grounding layer 14onto the second substrate 11 and a projection of the microstrip line 13onto the second substrate 11 have an overlapped area therebetween. Inparticular, the microstrip line 13 corresponds in position to the viahole 15 of the grounding layer, and, after transmitting in the liquidcrystal layer as media, the microwave signal in the microstrip line 13is transmitted to a radiation unit through the via hole 15. Accordingly,in order to further couple the microwave signal in the microstrip lineto the via hole, the projection of the via hole 15 and the projection ofthe microstrip line 13, onto the first substrate 10 or the secondsubstrate 11, are overlapped, so that the microstrip line couples themicrowave signal to the via hole of the grounding layer in a minimumdistance in a vertical direction.

As shown in the figures, the projection of the microstrip line onto thesecond substrate divides the projection of the via hole onto the secondsubstrate into portions located on two sides of the projection of themicrostrip line onto the second substrate.

As shown in the figures, the portions of the projection of the via holeonto the second substrate located on the two sides of the projection ofthe microstrip line onto the second substrate are symmetrical about theprojection of the microstrip line onto the second substrate.

It can also be contemplated that the projection of the microstrip lineonto the second substrate spans and exceeds an extension of theprojection of the via hole onto the second substrate.

The microstrip line includes a first portion extending in a windingshape on the second substrate, and a second portion electricallyconnected to the first portion, the projection of the via hole onto thesecond substrate overlaps a projection of the second portion onto thesecond substrate, and no overlap is between a projection of the firstportion onto the second substrate and the projection of the via holeonto the second substrate.

It can also be contemplated that a projection of one end of themicrostrip line onto the second substrate is located within theprojection of the via hole onto the second substrate.

In some specific embodiments, in the phase-shift unit provided accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure, referring to FIG. 4 , one endof the microstrip line 13 corresponds to the via hole. In particular,when the phase-shift unit comprises four via holes, the four via holescorrespond to four microstrip lines. For example, one end of eachmicrostrip line 13 corresponds to one via hole. Referring to FIG. 4 ,the four via holes are in an array arrangement, and one end of each ofthe four microstrip lines 13 corresponds in position to one via hole.

In some specific embodiments, in the phase-shift unit provided accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure, referring to FIG. 5 , theother end of the microstrip line 13 is connected to a feeder interface16 configured for feeding a microwave signal from an electrical cableinto the microstrip line, or for feeding the microwave signal from themicrostrip line into the electromagnet cable. In particular, a pluralityof microstrip lines are connected to one feeder interface, or eachmicrostrip line is connected to a different feeder interface. In aspecific implementation, the microwave signals having same phase can beinput at a plurality of feeder interfaces, or are input at one feederinterface. Because different voltage microwave signals may be appliedonto the microstrip line, difference occurs in deflection of differentliquid crystals in the microstrip line, to generate a phase differencein the microwave signal passing through each via hole. When a pluralityof microstrip lines are connected to one feeder interface, in order toprevent one microstrip line from interrupting other microstrip lineswhen the one microstrip line is feeded with a microwave signal or avoltage signal at the feeder interface, in some embodiments, adirect-current blocking device is mounted at the feeder interface of themicrostrip line, for blocking a direct-current signal interruption.

In specific embodiments, in the above phase-shift unit providedaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure, the phase-shift unitfurther comprises: a control unit 19 configured for transmitting thevoltage signal that controls deflection of liquid crystal molecules inthe liquid crystal layer. At least one of the microstrip lines 13 isconnected to the control unit through a lead wire made of a transparentconductive material such as ITO and IZO, and the grounding layer isgrounded. In particular, in order to control deflection of the liquidcrystals, it requires to apply a voltage signal between the microstripline and the grounding layer, accordingly, the control unit 19 is usedfor controlling a voltage difference between the microstrip line and thegrounding layer when the liquid crystals of the liquid crystal layer aredeflected. Moreover, in order to keep a good contact between themicrostrip line and the control unit, the microstrip line 13 can bemanufactured as a lead wire configured for connection to the controlunit. Each of the microstrip lines 13 is connected to a lead wirerespectively and there is a one-to-one correspondence between the leadwires and the microstrip lines 13. The control unit may be a driver IC.Specifically, in order for further controlling the voltage differencebetween the microstrip line and the grounding layer, the grounding layeris grounded and is only used for controlling a voltage applied to themicrostrip line.

In specific embodiments, in the above phase-shift unit providedaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure, referring to FIG. 6, the phase-shift unit further comprises: a first alignment layer 17 anda second alignment layer 18 provided at either side of the liquidcrystal layer 12, respectively.

In specific embodiments, in the phase-shift unit according to theembodiments of the present disclosure, referring to FIG. 7 , bufferlayers 100 are provided between the second substrate and the microstripline, and between the first substrate and the grounding layer,respectively, and are configured to avoid a rupture of the firstsubstrate and the second substrate caused by a stress concentration whena metal is deposited. Generally, the material of the buffer layer isSiNx, and the buffer layer has a thickness of 50 μm-500 μm.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the first alignment layer 17 is provided betweenthe liquid crystal layer 12 and the grounding layer 14; and the secondalignment layer 18 is provided between the liquid crystal layer 12 and afilm layer where the microstrip line 13 is located. In particular, theliquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer have long axes andshort axes, and the liquid crystal molecules are not deflected when novoltage difference exists between the microstrip line 13 and thegrounding layer 14. In order to align orientations of the liquid crystalmolecules so that long axes of the liquid crystal molecules are providedin parallel between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 12,it needs to provide the first alignment layer 17 and the secondalignment layer 18 to arrange an arrangement of orientations of theliquid crystal molecules.

It should be note that, both the microstrip line and the grounding layeraccording to embodiments of the present disclosure are metal layershaving electrical conductivity. In formation of the grounding layer orthe microstrip line on the first substrate or the second substrate, amanner of deposition, such as processes including sputtering,evaporation or electric plating, or other processes can be used.

The phase-shift unit provided according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure includes the liquid crystal layer, the first alignment layerand the second alignment layer provided at either side of the liquidcrystal layer, respectively, the grounding layer provided at the side ofthe first alignment layer facing away from the second alignment layer,and the microstrip line provided at the side of the second alignmentlayer facing away from the first alignment layer. The liquid crystallayer is deflected under the action of the voltage difference betweenthe microstrip line and the grounding layer, a corresponding deflectionoccurs in the phase of the microwave signal passing through the liquidcrystal layer, thereby achieving the object of controlling the phase ofthe microwave signal by controlling the liquid crystal layer. Thephase-shift unit provided according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure can achieve controlling of the phase of the microwave signalat any angles.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a phase shiftercomprising at least one phase-shift unit as described above.

In an embodiment, the phase shifter comprises a plurality of phase-shiftunits 01. In an embodiment, the plurality of phase-shift units 01 havethe common first substrate 10 and the common second substrate 11.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there isprovided an antenna comprising at least one phase shifter unitsaccording to the abovementioned embodiment. In an embodiment, in orderto achieve transmission and receipt of the antenna at multiple angles bymeans of the phase-shift unit, each antenna comprises at least two phaseshifter, to achieve transmission or receipt of the microwave signal atany angle.

Based on the same inventive concept, according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure, there is also provided an antenna comprising atleast two phase-shift units according to the abovementioned embodiment,referring to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 . In an embodiment, the grounding layer14 is provided at a side of the first substrate 10 facing towards theliquid crystal layer 12, and the antenna further comprises: at least twopatch units 21 provided at a side of the first substrate 10 facing awayfrom the liquid crystal layer 12 and configured for transmitting orreceiving the microwave signal, the patch units 21 are in a one-to-onepositional correspondence to the via holes 15 in the grounding layer 14,and a projection of each via hole 15 onto the first substrate 10 islocated within a projection of the patch unit 21 corresponding to thevia hole 15 onto the first substrate.

Specifically, with the antenna provided according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure, after the phase of the microwave signal is adjustedby the phase-shift unit, the microwave signal is coupled with the patchunit having radiation function through the via hole, and the microwavesignal having a varied phase is transmitted at a fixed angle through thepatch unit. Conversely, the patch unit feedbacks the microwave signalreceived at the fixed angle to the phase-shift unit through the viahole. Therefore, the antenna provided according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure achieves transmission of the microwave signal at afixed angle, reduces noise interruption, and improves utilization ratioof power of the microwave signal.

In one embodiment, the number of the patch units and the number of thevia holes are identical, and positions of the patch units on the firstsubstrate are in a one-to-one correspondence to positions of the viaholes. In some embodiments, each antenna comprises four via holes in anarray arrangement, and comprises patch units being in a one-to-onecorrespondence to the four via holes. In order to enable the microwavesignal passing through the via holes to be coupled to the patch unit ina better manner, a projection of the patch unit onto the first substrateat least covers a projection of the via hole onto the first substrate.

As shown in the figures, a projection of the at least one via hole ontothe second substrate is located within a projection of the at least onepatch unit onto the second substrate.

As shown in the figures, the projection of the patch unit onto thesecond substrate and the projection of the microstrip line onto thesecond substrate have an overlapped area therebetween.

The antenna provided according to embodiments of the present disclosurecomprises the phase-shift unit provided according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure, accordingly, the antenna provided according toembodiments of the present disclosure achieves phrase controlling bymeans of deflection of the liquid crystal layer, and thus changes thedirection of the microwave signal radiated by the antenna.

According to specified embodiments, in the antenna provided according toembodiments of the present disclosure, the patch unit has a rectangularor circular shape. In particular, the patch unit may have any shape suchas a triangular shape and a trapezoidal shape and is not specifiedlimited herein.

Based on the same inventive concept, according to a yet anotherembodiment of the present disclosure, there is also provided a displaypanel. Referring to FIG. 9 , the display panel includes a display regionA and a frame region B. In the frame region of the display panel, atleast one set of the abovementioned antenna 30 according to any of theembodiments of the present disclosure is included. In one embodiment,FIG. 9 shows only that the antenna is provided at an upper frame of thedisplay panel, however, the present disclosure is not limited to this.

Specifically, the antenna is provided in the frame region of the displaypanel, and the antenna comprises the liquid crystal layer. When thedisplay panel also comprises a liquid crystal layer, in order to preventthe liquid crystal layer in the frame region from interrupting theliquid crystal layer in the display region, the liquid crystal layers inthe display region and in the frame region are sealed respectively byadhesives. In addition, the antenna is provided in the frame region ofthe display panel, including at any frame, where no printed circuitboard (IC/FPC) is provided, of the frame region, and each display panelincludes one antenna or a plurality of antennas, and it is notspecifically limited herein.

In the frame region of the display panel provided according toembodiments of the present disclosure, the antenna provided according toembodiments of the present disclosure is included. Since the antennaprovided according to embodiments of the present disclosure in structureincludes the first substrate, the second substrate, and the liquidcrystal layer provided between the first substrate and the secondsubstrate, structure of the antenna provided according to embodiments ofthe present disclosure can be manufactured together with the displaypanel, and thus the antenna has good compatibility.

In specific embodiments, in the abovementioned display panel providedaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure, the antenna isprovided at an upper frame, a left frame and/or a right frame of thedisplay panel. In particular, referring to FIG. 10 , the display panelfurther comprises a printed circuit board 31, and the printed circuitboard 31 is provided at the lower frame of the display panel. When thedisplay panel comprises a plurality of antenna 30, the plurality ofantenna may be provided at the upper frame, the left frame and/or theright frame. FIG. 10 only shows an example in which the display panelcomprises two antenna 30. Structure of each antenna is the same as thatof the antenna according to the another embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Moreover, there may be a plurality of patch units andmicrostrip lines in each antenna, so that the object of receiving ortransmitting the microwave signal at 360° can be achieved. For example,referring to FIG. 11 , the microstrip line 13 of the antenna 30 isprovided in the same layer as a gate layer 41 of the display region, andthe grounding layer 14 of the antenna 30 is provided in the same layeras a common electrode layer 42 of the display region A. For anotherexample, in an embodiment not shown, the microstrip line 13 of theantenna 30 may be provided in the same layer as a source-drain layer 43of the display region A, and the grounding layer 14 of the antenna 30 isprovided still in the same layer as the common electrode layer 42 of thedisplay region A.

In specific embodiments, in the abovementioned display panel providedaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure, the first substrateis a color filter substrate and the second substrate is an arraysubstrate; or, the first substrate is an array substrate and the secondsubstrate is a color filter substrate. In particular, the microstripline of the antenna is provided in the frame region of the arraysubstrate, and the grounding layer and the patch unit are provided ateither side of the frame region of the color film substrate,respectively; or, the microstrip line of the antenna is provided in theframe region of the color filter substrate, and the grounding layer andthe patch unit are provided at either side of the frame region of thearray substrate, respectively; or, when the display panel comprises atleast two antenna, in one antenna, the microstrip line is provided inthe frame region of the array substrate, and the grounding layer and thepatch unit are provided at either side of the frame region of the colorfilter substrate, respectively; while, in the other antenna, themicrostrip line is provided in the frame region of the color filmsubstrate, and the grounding layer and the patch unit are provided ateither side of the frame region of the array substrate, respectively.

The display panel according to embodiments of the present disclosure isa liquid crystal display panel, the antenna controls the phase of themicrowave signal by means of deflection of liquid crystal molecules inthe liquid crystal layer, and the antenna can be manufactured togetherwith the display panel and thus has a better compatibility.

Based on the same inventive concept, according to a still anotherembodiment of the present disclosure, there is also provided a displaydevice comprising any one of the abovementioned display panels providedaccording to the embodiments of the present disclosure. The displaydevice may be any products or components having a display function,including a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a television, a display, anotebook computer, a digital photo frame, a navigator and the like.Implementations of the display device can refer to the abovementionedembodiments of the array substrate, and the description is not repeatedfor the sake of brevity.

Concerning the above, the phase-shift unit provided according to the oneembodiment of the present disclosure comprises a first substrate and asecond substrate assembled to each other; a liquid crystal layer betweenthe first substrate and the second substrate; a microstrip line providedat a side of the second substrate facing towards the liquid crystallayer, and configured for receiving a voltage signal that controlsdeflection of liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer andfor receiving or transmitting a microwave signal; and a grounding layerprovided on the first substrate and including a via hole correspondingto the microstrip line. As a result, according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the liquid crystal layer is provided between themicrostrip line and the grounding layer and will be deflected under avoltage difference between the microstrip line and the grounding layer.When the microwave signal propagates in the deflected liquid crystallayer, the phase of the microwave signal varies according to deflectionof the liquid crystal layer, and the microwave signal is furthertransmitted through the via hole of the grounding layer. Therefore, thephase-shift unit according to embodiments of the present disclosureachieves use of liquid crystals as transmission media of the microwavesignal and controlling of phase of the microwave signal according to thedeflection of the liquid crystals. Moreover, the phase-shift unitprovided according to embodiments of the present disclosure has goodcompatibility with a display panel.

The another embodiment of the present disclosure provides an antenna.The antenna provided according to the another embodiment of the presentdisclosure comprises the phase-shift unit of the one embodiment of thepresent disclosure, and the patch unit coupled to the via hole of thephase-shift unit. The microwave signal is radiated through the patchunit. Therefore, the antenna provided according to the embodiments ofthe present disclosure can be provided in the display panel, and thushas a good compatibility with the display panel.

Obviously, those skilled in the art may make any changes andmodifications to the present disclosure without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosureintends to include these changes and modifications to the presentdisclosure if they fall into the scope of the present disclosure definedin the claims and their equivalents.

The above specific embodiments are further description of objects,technique solutions and advantages of the present invention. It shouldbe understood that, the above described contents are merely specificembodiments of the present invention, but not intended to limit thepresent disclosure. Any changes, equivalent alternatives, modifications,made within principles and spirit of the present disclosure, should beincluded within the scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A phase-shift unit, comprising: a first substrateand a second substrate provided opposite to each other; a medium layerprovided between the first substrate and the second substrate; amicrostrip line disposed at a side of the second substrate facingtowards the first substrate; and a grounding layer provided at a side ofthe first substrate facing towards the second substrate and formed witha via hole; wherein a projection of the via hole onto the secondsubstrate and a projection of the microstrip line onto the secondsubstrate have an overlapped area therebetween; wherein the via hole isconfigured to feed a phase-shifted microwave signal out of thephase-shift unit, or feed a microwave signal into the phase-shift unitsuch that the microwave signal is phase-shifted by changing a phasevelocity of the microwave signal; and wherein the projection of themicrostrip line onto the second substrate divides the projection of thevia hole onto the second substrate into two portions symmetrical aboutthe projection of the microstrip line onto the second substrate.
 2. Thephase-shift unit of claim 1, wherein the microstrip line extendscontinuously on the second substrate.
 3. The phase-shift unit of claim1, wherein the grounding layer is continuous except the via hole.
 4. Thephase-shift unit of claim 1, wherein both the microstrip line and thegrounding layer are metal layers.
 5. The phase-shift unit of claim 1,wherein the projection of the microstrip line onto the second substratespans and exceeds the projection of the via hole onto the secondsubstrate.
 6. The phase-shift unit of claim 1, wherein the microstripline comprises a first portion extending in a winding shape on thesecond substrate, and a second portion electrically connected to thefirst portion, the projection of the via hole onto the second substrateoverlaps a projection of the second portion onto the second substrate,and no overlap is between a projection of the first portion onto thesecond substrate and the projection of the via hole onto the secondsubstrate.
 7. The phase-shift unit of claim 1, further comprising: afirst alignment layer and a second alignment layer provided at oppositesides of the liquid crystal layer, respectively.
 8. The phase-shift unitof claim 7, wherein: the first alignment layer is provided between theliquid crystal layer and the grounding layer; and the second alignmentlayer is provided between the liquid crystal layer and a film layerwhere the microstrip line is located.
 9. The phase-shift unit of claim1, wherein buffer layers are provided between the second substrate andthe microstrip line, and between the first substrate and the groundinglayer, respectively.
 10. A phase shifter, comprising at least one saidphase-shift unit of claim
 1. 11. The phase shifter of claim 10,comprising a plurality of said phase-shift units, wherein the pluralityof phase-shift units have the first substrate and the second substratein common.
 12. An antenna, comprising at least one said phase shifter ofclaim
 10. 13. The antenna of claim 12, wherein: the antenna furthercomprises at least one patch unit provided at a side of the firstsubstrate facing away from the liquid crystal layer and configured totransmit or receive an electromagnetic wave signal; and a projection ofthe at least one via hole onto the second substrate is located within aprojection of the at least one patch unit onto the second substrate. 14.The antenna of claim 13, wherein the projection of at least one patchunit onto the second substrate and the projection of the first portionof at least one microstrip line onto the second substrate have anoverlapped area therebetween.
 15. The antenna of claim 12, wherein theantenna comprises four via holes in an array arrangement, and theantenna comprises patch units being in a one-to-one positionalcorrespondence to the four via holes, and wherein a projection of thepatch unit onto the first substrate at least covers a projection of thevia hole onto the first substrate.